The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) on August 04, 2026, updated the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Anti Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorist Financing and Know Your Customer) Guidelines, 2022.
The most recent amendment to these Guidelines was made via a Circular dated August 03, 2026, which introduced several changes to reporting and jurisdictional requirements. Most notably, it inserted Cross Border Wire Transfer Reports (CBWTRs) as a new mandatory reporting category alongside existing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and Non-Profit Organisation Transaction Reports (NTRs) — Regulated Entities must now submit CBWTRs to FIU-IND by the 15th of the succeeding month, with the Principal Officer responsible for their timely and confidential submission. The circular also updated the reference for furnishing information to FIU-IND to include "rule 7 and rule 8" of the Prevention of Money Laundering Rules, refreshed guidance on FIU-India's reporting portals (directing entities to "FINnet 2.0 resources" and the "FINgate 2.0" portal), and removed the European Union from the list of approved jurisdictions used for V-CIP (Video-based Customer Identification Process) IP address verification and for classifying low-risk NRI customers eligible for V-CIP onboarding.
A significant tranche of updates came via a Circular dated January 02, 2026, which touched multiple chapters. Key changes include: (i) a revised applicability clause clarifying that the Guidelines apply to all entities licensed, registered, or authorized by IFSCA; (ii) a new confidentiality requirement that a customer's risk categorization must not be revealed to them (to avoid "tipping off"); (iii) provisions ensuring KYC applications from Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) cannot be rejected without due application of mind, with reasons recorded; (iv) a new differentiated periodic KYC updation schedule for resident Indian customers with existing Financial Group relationships (2/8/10 years for high/medium/low risk, versus the standard 1/3/5 years); (v) a requirement to ascertain source of funds and apply enhanced due diligence where the beneficial owner of a non-resident customer entity is an Indian national, to curb round-tripping; (vi) formal definition of "KYC Registration Agency (KRA)"; and (vii) expansion of the V-CIP jurisdiction list (adding UAE, Singapore, Australia, and — at the time — the EU, since removed in August 2026).
Other targeted updates in the past year include a Circular dated June 19, 2026, which tightened wire transfer fund-flow rules by requiring all Financial Institutions (including otherwise exempted ones) to transact and receive monetary consideration only through a Banking Unit account or SNRR account (previously framed as "or"). A Circular dated February 26, 2026 added OTP-based Aadhaar e-KYC authentication as a permissible identification method under the V-CIP process. Additionally, a Circular dated October 31, 2025 substantially overhauled Part A of Annexure-II (the V-CIP process for onboarding Indian nationals), refining infrastructure, procedural, and record-keeping standards, and introducing specific conditions for onboarding low-risk NRI customers via V-CIP, including debit-freeze/inactive account safeguards pending address verification.
Collectively, these updates reflect IFSCA's ongoing efforts to tighten cross-border transaction transparency (via CBWTR reporting), strengthen beneficial ownership scrutiny for round-tripping risks, modernize digital KYC/V-CIP authentication options, and periodically recalibrate the list of jurisdictions eligible for simplified remote onboarding.
